Hello Ladies!

This is dedicated to all the Getties who've encouraged me to have a go at writing my own fic. I'm a huge fan of the Getty crew and I would love your advice, ideas, feedback, criticism or abuse - whatever you think I deserve ;)

Enjoy!

BTW... they're not mine. The characters. I'm just borrowing them.

He stepped towards her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and took her hand with the other. She looked down at their hands, their skin tone a perfect match, and breathed in the scent of him. He held her hand softly in his, then raised it to his lips as though it was the most important thing he had ever done. As he kissed the back of her palm, he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

She looked so beautiful in this light, her eyes dancing in anticipation, her mouth slightly open and her breath soft and shallow. He could see her speeding pulse on the pale olive of her neck. Slipping her hand around to rest on his, he pulled her closer to him, leant forward and whispered, "just one dance, B."

Betty woke to feel the cool cotton on her cheek, the silky brocade of the bedspread, and the warm glow of the morning sun on her back. She rolled over towards the warmth and felt another warmth envelop her.

"Morning sleepyhead" a low, husky voice greeted her.

"mmmm… morning", she smiled, eyes still closed, remembering where she was.

The light from the window cast his face in shadow as he lay in front of her. She buried her head between his bare chest and his left arm, snuggling closer to him. He tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and kissed her head softly.

Running his fingers across her shoulder and down her arm, he asked, "Did you dream about me?"

She grinned and laughed to herself, recalling the scene.

"…You did!" He felt very pleased with himself. "Was it good?" he teased.

Still half asleep, she murmured "mmm, not as good as this" lifting her palm to his chest and playing with the silver chain he wore. That wasn't the answer he'd expected. He took a deep breath, felt a slight tightening in his chest, and then exhaled slowly as she buried her face a little further. Looking around the room, he took in his surroundings.

The walls were papered with an antique gold, textured to match the brocade of the bed, and in the sunrise they had become a blush pink, casting a warm glow on everything. The polished wooden floorboards were strewn with soft, aged rugs, and the exposed rafters were of the same wood, left raw. To the right of the bed were a small table and two chairs, sitting in front of a set of tall windows that opened out onto the neighbouring rooftops. He rolled onto his back, Betty's head still resting on his chest, her shoulder tucked under his arm, and gazed out at the view. The flocks of birds had started to dance again, and in the distance he could see the bulging roof of the Pantheon, its large oculus like a pupil gazing at the sky.

He would take her there today, tell her that it was built as a temple to all the gods, explain that they used elephants to raise the each of the monolithic columns into place. She would ask about the sculptures and the tombs, he would tell her their stories, describe how the huge domed ceiling had been cast in a single pour of concrete, mixed with heavy stone at the sides, slowly becoming thinner and thinner until the upper parts were mixed with pumice. He would tell her that the amazing thing was that we still don't really know how they did it, that if we tried the same thing today with modern methods, it would last for a year or two at most. This building had stood for nineteen centuries.

He felt Betty shift slightly in his embrace, bringing her left hand across his stomach and leaning into him. Her left leg crept over his until she was half lying on him. He took another deep breath.

He loved Rome, he loved the sound of it, the smells down each little street, the beauty of the buildings and the people, the feel of marble in so many colours, the idea that tastes that had meant home and family were here waiting to welcome him again. He wanted Betty to love it too.

Betty's eyes drifted open and she saw Gio gazing out the window. She could tell he was thinking because of the way his brows furrowed slightly and his lips sat in a tiny frown. He usually wore a half-smile or a dimpled grin, but she liked catching him in these moments. The Phillip Roth moments, she had named them. The rest of the room was a blur, but she caught sight of the red sitting on the bedside table.

Gio turned to look down at Betty. Her hair was a mess again and fell across her face. Her brown eyes were warm and rested, and she looked relaxed. She hadn't even noticed that the strap of her singlet had slipped off her left shoulder. He was relieved. He didn't want her to be worrying while she was with him. She'd sent Henry back to Tucson with his ring and only a shred of his pride. Gio had started to think that her guilt would follow her across the Atlantic. But she seemed content. His gaze wandered down to the hint of cleavage, and remembering that he had a month in this beautiful place with her made him smile.

Betty noticed as his lips sneaked up at the corners and his brow relaxed. She lifted her fingers to his lips, recalling her dream again, and he kissed them. He slipped her strap back onto her shoulder and gently nudged the back of her arm so her hand slid towards his temple. His eyes closed.

He moaned softly and dipped his head forward as her fingers began to run over his hair.

"It's growing", she smiled

"Mmm hmmm…" she stopped massaging and gave him a stern look.

"Let it grow"

"Yes ma'am"

She began massaging again, pressing her fingertips into his scalp, feeling his hair bristle under her palm. She didn't mind it short on him, but she loved the look and feel of longer hair. She liked the way it fell in his face, dark and shining on his coffee coloured skin.

"So what shall we do today?" he asked in a singsong voice.

"Mmm, eat." She felt her stomach's emptiness and mentally apologised to it "…And walk. I want to get a feel for the city before we start doing the touristy thing"

"Sounds good to me" Gio nodded, eyes still closed, head lolling under her fingers.

"Okay…" Betty withdrew her hand

"No don't stop… please, please, please…."

But Betty rolled away and pushed the covers aside.

Gio rolled after her, reaching out for her waist and pulling her back into him in a strong embrace.

Betty resisted for only a second, then flung the covers back over herself and snuggled into his arms.

He nosed her hair aside and kissed the back of her ear…

"Can I have you for breakfast?"

"Hmm, nope…. Definitely not…" Betty replied "but perhaps dessert…" she teased and he growled in her ear.

She was incredibly ticklish, he realised, as she cowered down under the covers and wriggled away from him.

"Oooh this is gonna be fun" he thought to himself, as he tore away the sheets again and she leapt from the bed. He started after her and then stopped as she scurried away to the bathroom in her little singlet and sweatpants.

He collapsed back on the bed in his boxers and recalled the night before, when they had made it to this room after 24 hours, two terrible in-flight meals (he didn't care if it was first class – if it wasn't fresh and it was a thousand feet in the air, it wasn't food) three incessantly crying toddlers and an overly talkative taxi driver, they had barely dropped their bags when Betty had crawled into the twin bed and drifted off. He just stood there, door still ajar, and slowly took off his jacket, sat down on the bed and watched her sleep. He closed the door and walked to the other side of the bed, slipped her glasses off, folded them and set them on the bedside table. He rummaged around for his cell phone and retreated into the bathroom to call Ignacio and Daniel and let them know they'd arrived safely. He'd had to wake her gently once their things were in order and talk her into changing out of her dress. She'd snatched the clothes he held out to her, then stomped out of the bathroom and collapsed back on the bed with no idea how cute she looked. She was out again like a light. He flicked it off and crawled in beside her, gazing at the ceiling, wondering if she'd thought that they would probably be sharing a room, and a bed, and half afraid she would hit him if she woke in the night and found him next to her.

Then her hand, sliding over the sheet in an arc, searching for him, found his elbow and tugged. He rolled onto his side and held her hand, kissed it, and fell asleep.

Chapter Two coming soon...